Books Through Bars

Books Through Bars We send quality reading material to prisoners and encourage creative dialogue on the criminal justice system, thereby educating those living inside and outside of prison walls. Founded in the late 1980s and formally incorporated as an organization in 2000, Books Through Bars was established to address the paucity of educational resources and programming made available to prisoners hoping to use the time of their imprisonment to effect positive change in their lives. By distributing free educational materials to prisoners, Books Through Bars facilitates prisoner education, thereby promoting successful community re-integration. Because successful community reintegration requires transformation within and outside of prison walls, Books Through Bars utilizes our book distribution service as the foundation on which we build innovative programs designed to engage a broad cross-section of the general public in thinking critically about issues of imprisonment. We believe a society of social and economic inequality leads to a cycle of crime and incarceration. We work to reverse the dehumanizing effects excessive punishment inflicts upon individuals, families and communities. Books Through Bars sends quality reading material to prisoners and encourages creative dialogue on the criminal justice system, thereby educating those living inside and outside of prison walls.